Post job

Interior design assistant vs visual designer

The differences between interior design assistants and visual designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become an interior design assistant, becoming a visual designer takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a visual designer has an average salary of $86,495, which is higher than the $47,621 average annual salary of an interior design assistant.

The top three skills for an interior design assistant include space planning, in-home and revit. The most important skills for a visual designer are sketch, visual design, and graphic design.

Interior design assistant vs visual designer overview

Interior Design AssistantVisual Designer
Yearly salary$47,621$86,495
Hourly rate$22.89$41.58
Growth rate1%3%
Number of jobs46,70146,815
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Average age4238
Years of experience412

What does an interior design assistant do?

Interior design assistants are professionals who are responsible for providing direct administrative support while assisting interior designers with various tasks. These assistants are required to run errands and contact clients through phones to obtain important information. They are required to visit stores or shop online to obtain a multitude of materials when working on a project. They must assist interior designers in moving furniture and taking photographs of spaces while measuring rooms and items. Interior design assistants must also manage important projects and ensure they are completed on time.

What does a visual designer do?

A visual designer is someone who creates designs for a variety of platforms such as Internet and intranet sites, games, and wearables. The duties of visual designers depend on the specific project or industry in which they are working. Duties include creating user-centered interaction models, working with information technology and business teams to resolve complex issues, and designing logos, icons, and infographics. The qualifications to become a visual designer include possessing strong problem-solving, communication, and negotiation skills and obtaining a bachelor's degree in design.

Interior design assistant vs visual designer salary

Interior design assistants and visual designers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Interior Design AssistantVisual Designer
Average salary$47,621$86,495
Salary rangeBetween $34,000 And $66,000Between $51,000 And $143,000
Highest paying City-San Bruno, CA
Highest paying state-California
Best paying company-ByteDance
Best paying industry-Start-up

Differences between interior design assistant and visual designer education

There are a few differences between an interior design assistant and a visual designer in terms of educational background:

Interior Design AssistantVisual Designer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Most common majorInterior DesignGraphic Design
Most common collegeCornell UniversityUniversity of Pennsylvania

Interior design assistant vs visual designer demographics

Here are the differences between interior design assistants' and visual designers' demographics:

Interior Design AssistantVisual Designer
Average age4238
Gender ratioMale, 17.9% Female, 82.1%Male, 53.1% Female, 46.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 1.5% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 7.6% Asian, 4.6% White, 82.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 10.4% White, 70.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage23%13%

Differences between interior design assistant and visual designer duties and responsibilities

Interior design assistant example responsibilities.

  • Manage the website and twitter page, write the blog posts and attend numerous fashion shows and sample sale rooms.
  • Create a presentation or sketch mapping out the space.
  • Work extensively on AutoCad, powerpoint, Microsoft suite.
  • Organize and make weekly PowerPoint presentations to local realtors.
  • Review and reply to RFI resulting in delivering successful projects.
  • Create digital 3D render spaces of client projects using Google SketchUp.
  • Show more

Visual designer example responsibilities.

  • Design, project manage, and build retail stores from sketch to completion.
  • Manage website redesign including copywriting and updating all website content.
  • Produce and deliver HTML5, CSS3 and graphical items.
  • Design team brand and logo for organization.
  • Provide approved design in HTML5 to web developer for publishing.
  • Utilize expertise in Photoshop CS6, HTML5/CSS, Squarespace, and JavaScript.
  • Show more

Interior design assistant vs visual designer skills

Common interior design assistant skills
  • Space Planning, 9%
  • In-Home, 8%
  • Revit, 8%
  • Auto CAD, 8%
  • Administrative Tasks, 7%
  • Design Concepts, 6%
Common visual designer skills
  • Sketch, 19%
  • Visual Design, 8%
  • Graphic Design, 5%
  • UI, 5%
  • User Experience, 4%
  • Visualization, 4%

Browse arts, entertainment, sports, and media jobs